A/N: Big thanks to Heather for her beta'ing skills. Thanks so much for reading and/or reviewing.

"Here, Bella. You got a postcard from someone," Mom said the next day as I lounged on the couch, watching the reruns of some crime show.

I took the card from her, grinning when I saw the words Port Angeles written on the front. Eagerly, I turned it over and read the words that had been written.

Dear Bella,

I thought it was time to return the favor, so greetings from Port Angeles, WA. Maybe next year, you and your dad can come camping out this way. We've got plenty of woods. I'll talk to you soon!

Edward

I felt a silly smile cross my face, and my mom noticed right away.

"So, who's that from?" she asked, sitting down next to me on the couch.

I felt a blush creep up my cheeks as I answered her. "Edward Cullen. He's the twin brother of my friend, Alice, who's coming to Orlando later this week. I met them while camping."

"Is he cute?" she asked, and I let out a laugh. My mom was a romantic who loved to gossip and sometimes, she cracked me up.

"Very," I told her, pulling out my phone and bringing up a picture that Alice had taken of Edward and me.

"Girl, he is hot!" Mom said, fanning herself, and I rolled my eyes at her.

"Yeah, but he just got out of a relationship, not to mention that he lives across the country."

"True love always finds away."

"I'm not in love with him," I told her. "I just have a small crush."

Thankfully, Mom changed the subject and told me that she had a date with Phil later that night and chances were good she wouldn't be home until tomorrow. I grimaced at her words because I so didn't want to think about my mother engaging in those kinds of activities.

Later that night after my mom had left, I was snuggled in bed, watching Resident Evil when my phone rang. I beamed when I saw that it was Edward.

"Hey, Edward!"

"Hey, Bella. How are you?"

I leaned back against my pillows as I answered him.

"I'm good," I told him. "It's nice being home, but I really miss my dad. Oh, thank you for the postcard. I got it today."

"I figured I should return the favor. I loved getting your cards."

We talked for a good hour before Alice interrupted us, and I could hear her demanding to speak to me.

"Sorry, Bella. Alice just has to speak to you, and apparently, she can't just call you on her own phone," Edward said, and I let out a laugh.

"Well all right then. I guess I'll talk to you later," I told him.

A few seconds later, Alice was talking my ear off, telling me she couldn't wait to see me and she couldn't wait for me to meet Jasper. We planned on meeting up in Palm Coast which was halfway between Jacksonville and Orlando. She'd wanted me to go to Disney World with her, but I honestly couldn't afford it, and I'd just been the previous spring.

"Well, I'll let you go. Here's Edward," she said, handing the phone off to Edward.

"I'm gonna say goodnight," he told me. "I know you said you had an early morning."

He was right. My mom was insisting on taking me school clothes shopping in the morning, and although I hated shopping, I did want to spend time with her.

"I'll talk to you tomorrow if I survive shopping."

He let out a laugh that made my heart flutter.

"Does Alice know how much you hate shopping? Because if not, you might not want to tell her. She lives to shop."

"Oh, I know," I said with a laugh. "And yes, Alice knows how I feel about shopping although I did promise to go to the mall with her."

"Oh, my God, Bella! Why would you agree to that?" he asked, horror evident in his voice. "Do you have any idea what shopping with Alice entails? You'll spend hours on your feet, you'll be starving and dying of thirst, and she won't even care!"

I couldn't help but laugh at his outburst. Sometimes, he really cracked me up.

"I'll be fine, Edward. I promise. I'll carry food and water with me."

"If you're sure," he said in a doubtful voice.

"I promise. I'll call you after I survive your sister's shopping trip as well."

At eight the next morning, Mom came home, rushing about in her usual way to gather everything she needed for our shopping trip. She had lists and coupons, not to mention her purse and phone. As soon as I was done eating breakfast, she tossed my plate in the sink and hurried me up to put on my shoes.

"Calm down, Mom," I told her with a laugh. "The mall isn't closing anytime soon."

Thankfully, shopping with my mom wasn't a marathon, and we got all we needed in a couple of hours. Afterwards, we went out for lunch and took a walk on the beach.

"Phil has asked me to go to South Carolina with him next week. Would you be okay with that?" she asked as we sat on a bench.

I told her it was fine. It wasn't like I hadn't been on my own before. Plus, I was almost seventeen.

"Just no wild parties," she warned, and I let out a laugh. I'd never been to a party, much less hosted one, and I certainly wasn't going to start now. Oh, I'd been invited to plenty of parties, but they weren't really my thing.

Just then, my phone buzzed, and I smiled when I saw a text from Edward causing my mom to begin teasing me.

"Stop, Mom," I said with a small sigh. "Remember that Edward and I are just friends."

"Uh huh," she deadpanned as she stood up.

Rolling my eyes at her, I followed her back to the car, texting Edward the whole time.

He'd wanted to know how my day was going, and I gladly told him. He then told me that Emmett was driving him insane because he was crushing on some cheerleader named Rose who was so far out of Emmett's league that it was almost comical to watch. I could just picture Emmett fawning over some hot cheerleader.

I barely paid attention to Mom on the way home because I was so wrapped up in texting Edward. I only stopped when I got a text from Emmett, telling me that everything Edward said was a lie. I giggled as I read that before texting Emmett to behave. Emmett absolutely cracked me up, and I knew without a doubt that he was an awesome big brother.

"Bella!" I heard Alice squeal as I got out of my Mom's car that I'd borrowed.

"Alice!" I called back, rushing over to where she stood next to a tall handsome guy with blond hair.

I was immediately engulfed in a hug which I gladly returned. It was crazy how much I'd missed her. She'd become my best friend in an incredibly short amount of time, and I'd grown super attached to her as well as Edward and Emmett during the time we'd spent camping.

"Bella, this is my Jasper. Jasper, this is my best friend, Bella," she said after we pulled apart.

Jasper held out a hand and told me it was wonderful to meet me in a thick Southern accent. Alice had informed me that Jasper was from Texas, but she hadn't mentioned just how Southern he sounded.

"It's wonderful to meet you, too," I told him. "I've heard a lot about you."

He beamed and slung an arm around Alice's shoulders.

"So, I figured we could hit up the mall, grab some lunch, and then maybe the beach if that's cool with you guys," I suggested, and they both nodded.

"I can't wait to go shopping!" Alice said, and Jasper made a face before kissing Alice's cheek.

"Don't worry," I told Jasper. "I'm prepared."

I pulled some trail mix and a bottle of water out of my purse, informing them that Edward had warned me about Alice's shopping excursions.

Alice's mouth dropped open in disbelief and shock as Jasper let out a huge laugh.

"Edward is such a jerk!" Alice declared, and I just grinned at her.

"Are you telling me that you aren't a mad shopping guru who can go for days?"

She let out a giggle before telling me that Edward was probably right about her.

Despite shopping for several hours in a row, I had a great time, and I loved seeing how sweet Jasper was toward Alice. They seemed to be the perfect couple. He was the quiet to her hyperness.

After a wonderful lunch of Mexican food, we hit up the beach and some small gift shops along the way. I grabbed a couple of postcards, swatting Alice on the arm when she teased me.

"You and your postcard obsession."

"I don't have an obsession with postcards. I just enjoy collecting them and sending them to my friends."

"Well, I know Edward certainly enjoyed getting them."

"You know he sent me one," I told her, and she stopped what she was doing and looked at me.

"Really?"

I nodded.

"That's so sweet!" she squealed, and I sighed, knowing what was coming next.

Sure enough, she began rambling on about how perfect Edward and I would be together and how it didn't matter that I lived in Florida and he was in Washington. I tried to interject and cut her off before she went on a tangent, but it was fruitless. Sensing my discomfort, Jasper did his best to steer the conversation away from Edward, but even he wasn't able to.

Finally, I'd had enough, and I told Alice in a firm yet polite tone that nothing was going to happen between Edward and me. She opened her mouth to protest, but I shook my head.

"Drop it, please. I just ..." I shook my head. "Please, just leave it alone."

Alice nodded before apologizing, and I told her it was fine.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out and having fun, and I was sad to see them go at the end of the day.

By the time I made it home, it was a little past nine, and I was exhausted from the long day. I dragged the three bags of books, journals, and clothes into the house, waving hello to my mom and Phil who were snuggling in the living room. I didn't really want to interrupt them, so I went upstairs to my room to put away my bags and call Edward.

Made it back alive, I texted.

A few seconds later, I got a responding text.

Glad to hear that. Give me a few, and I'll call you. Finishing up the dishes.

While I waited for Edward to call, I went about adding my new books to my bookshelf and putting away the new t-shirts I'd bought. After I was done with that, I flopped down on my bed and impatiently waited for the phone to ring.

Finally it rang, and I answered immediately.

"I'm so glad to hear that you survived," he said, and I held back a sigh at hearing his voice.

I was growing more and more attracted to Edward, and I think that was one reason why I'd gotten a tad bit angry with Alice over her words earlier that day. I didn't want to find myself attracted to a boy that I couldn't have. Long distance relationships were hard to begin with, but I could only imagine how much harder it would be at our age.

"Yeah, it wasn't so bad. I think I owe a lot of that to Jasper as well as you for preparing me for what was to come," I said, grinning when he let out a laugh.

"Poor Jasper. You know he loves her a lot since he goes shopping with her."

"That's definitely a sign of true love."

We stayed up, talking until one in the morning, and I finally, had to end the call because I couldn't stop yawning. After saying goodnight, I set my phone on my nightstand, and the postcards I'd picked up earlier that day caught my eye.

I snagged one that had a beautiful picture of a sunset on it and grabbed the purple pen that was laying near it. I wrote a quick little note to Edward before addressing it, and then I decided to send one to Emmett as well.

Once I was done, I made my way into the bathroom, completed my bathroom ritual, and crawled into bed.

"Up and at 'em, kiddo!" Mom hollered as she passed by my door, and I rolled over with a groan, grimacing when I saw it was six-thirty. I hated the early mornings that came with the school year.

With a sigh, I got up and took a shower before dressing in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, slipping my feet into a pair of low-top blue Converse. Gathering up my hair, I put it in a ponytail before grabbing my backpack and going down to the kitchen.

Mom had some weird yogurt looking stuff in a bowl, and I grimaced at the sight of it, telling her that I'd just have toast.

Twenty minutes later, Mom was dropping me off at school before heading to the elementary school where she worked.

I made my way up the front steps and opened one of the large doors to the school, making my way toward my locker. It wasn't long before my friends found me, and we all hugged each other and caught up. I realized as I was talking to them, that I hadn't missed them as much this summer as I had in the past, and that made me feel guilty.

"Meet any cute boys this summer?" my friend, Bree, asked me.

I thought about Edward as I nodded.

"Yeah, I met one or two."

"Got any pics?" she asked, and I hesitated before answering her. It was stupid, but I didn't want to share Edward with anyone just yet.

"Sadly, no," I lied, hoping that she'd forgive me for the white lie.

"Too bad. Oh, so guess what?" she asked, and she was off and running, filling me in on all the gossip that I'd missed while I was gone. Apparently, Jake and Leah had broken up, gotten back together, and broken up again.

"Rumor has it that Jake broke up with her because he wants you back," she told me as we walked to our first period math class.

"Ugh. That's so not happening," I said with a grimace, hoping like hell she was wrong.

Sadly, she wasn't.

After third period, Jake found me as I walked toward the cafeteria, and he slung an arm around my shoulders. I shrugged it off and shot him glare.

"What are you doing, Jake?" I asked, noticing that Leah was glaring at me from down the hall.

"Nothing," he said, shooting me a cocky smile. "I just missed you, that's all."

"I can't say the same," I told him, feeling slightly bad when his face fell.

"Listen, can we talk?" he asked, and I shook my head no.

"We're over, Jake. We didn't work out well when we were together, and I've moved on. I thought you'd done the same."

He shrugged as he told me that Leah wasn't me and that he'd like a second chance. I told him that wasn't going to happen. I watched as his cheeks turned red and a hint of anger flickered in his eyes.

"Is there someone else?"

"That's none of your business," I told him. "Go back to Leah. She's crazy about you."

I then hurried down the hall and into the cafeteria, scowling the whole way. He'd totally put a damper on my fairly good day; however, that all changed when I got a text from Edward while I was eating lunch with my friends.

"Who ya texting?" my friend, Ashley, asked, and I shook my head.

"No one."

"Well, no one sure knows how to put a smile on your face," she commented with a raised eyebrow.

"Just a guy I met this summer," I told her, knowing that she'd report back to Bree about it, and that Bree would hound me.

"Yeah?" she asked as she leaned forward on the table. "Tell me all about him."

Still not wanting to share Edward with anyone just yet, I gave generic and vague descriptions about him until she finally got the hint that I didn't really want to talk about it.

"I'll drop it for now," she said, but I knew she wouldn't forget.

a/n: Thanks for reading. Let me know what you thought.